Make ’em hole
The Rangers are no strangers to coming back from a 3-1 series deficit. Here’s how they pulled off the feat in back-to-back years not so long ago.
2014 SECOND ROUND VS. PENGUINS The set up: The Rangers won the opener 2-1 in Pittsburgh on Derick Brassard’s OT goal but, didn’t score again until the second period of Game 4, a 4-2 loss at the Garden. The next day, Martin St. Louis’ mother, France, died of a heart attack at age 63.
Game 5 (at Pittsburgh) n Rangers 5, Penguins 1 St. Louis played 16 minutes, and although he didn’t make the scoresheet, his story galvanized the Rangers. They made it home on the strength of two more tallies by Brassard and a power-play goal by Ryan McDonagh.
Game 6 (at MSG) n Rangers 3, Penguins 1
On Mother’s Day, St. Louis brought tears to the eyes of the collective hockey world when he scored 3:34 in, followed less than three minutes later by a Carl Hagelin goal. Brassard put it away in the third and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 36 of 37 shots.
Game 7 (at Pittsburgh) Rangers 2, Penguins 1
Goals by Brian Boyle and Brad Richards sandwiched the Pens’ lone marker and Lundqvist did the rest. In all, he stopped 102 of 105 shots in the final three victories. After a series win vs. Montreal, the Rangers lost in the Stanley Cup Final to Los Angeles.
2015 SECOND ROUND VS. CAPITALS
The set up: After splitting the first two games at MSG, the Rangers managed to score just once in Washington, falling 1-0 and 2-1.
Game 5 (at MSG) n Rangers 2, Capitals 1 (OT) The two-minute warning had sounded on the Rangers’ season when Chris Kreider tied the game at 1 with 1:41 to go. At 9:37 of the first OT, McDonagh sent the series back to D.C.
Game 6 (at Washington) n Rangers 4, Capitals 3 Kreider kept the good times rolling with a goal 40 seconds in and another with one second left in the first period. The lead got to 4-1 before the Caps scored twice midway through the third. But they couldn’t get the equalizer past Lundqvist, who made 42 saves.
Game 7 (at MSG) n Rangers 2, Capitals 1 (OT)
“Stepan ... Stepan ... Stepan!” Alex Ovechkin and Kevin Hayes traded regulation goals and then the tense, winner-take-all overtime stretched past 11 minutes. The Rangers won a faceoff in the Caps’ zone and Derek Stepan (left) got free to bang the rebound of a Dan Girardi shot past Braden Holtby to raise the famous spoked roof. The Rangers, however, lost in seven games to Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference finals.